25 December 2010

I spent the summer going to one festival to another. There are so many in Kyoto and the Kansai. People are always so enthusiastic. It's often about a portable shrine (Mikoshi) that needs to be carried out all day by men through different parts of the city. These scenes are always so impressive and photogenic.

These pictures were taken on May 4th during Ujigami Festival, Otoyo Shrine (Higashiyama).

Women encouraging the men with a sensu (fan)

Kyoto 2010

The name of the shrine (Otoyo) is written on the fan.

Start of the procession, Men carrying the Mikoshi

Kyoto 2010

About Otoyo Shrine 大豊神社

Otoyo-jinja Shrine is dedicated to the local divinities who give protection to the district covering Shishigatani and Nanzen-ji Temple. According to tradition the shrine was founded in 887 to beseech the gods for a cure for illness suffered by Emperor Uda. It was built on Shishigatani the 15th peak of the 36 peaks in the Higashiyama range in east Kyoto. In 1954 Kyoto City listed the shrine as a Place of Scenic Beauty among the ancient temples and shrines gracing the city.